


Broken Dreams, Broken Lives

by Avalon_Rhapsodos



Series: Fool's Existences [2]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Foolshipping, IDK WTF this ship is called but whatever, Multi, Technically a request series now LOL., Wildcardshipping, i love this ship so much, protagshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 12:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15729831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avalon_Rhapsodos/pseuds/Avalon_Rhapsodos
Summary: Akira still has trouble opening up to adults, even if he's now one himself. Even opening up to his boyfriends is a struggle.





	Broken Dreams, Broken Lives

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to turn my thing with with the Foolshipping into a series sort of thing honestly. I love this ship so much and I want to keep making content for it. <3 If anyone has anything they want me to write for this ship feel free to suggest stuff for me, I'd love it. <3
> 
> This is also sort of an apology for not getting the next chapter to Bloody Saviors out this week either LOL. I only just got my charger in yesterday and didn't have enough time to finish the chapter unfortunately, but I promise Kaneshiro will get his just desserts this Sunday~!

The tea felt wonderful settling into Minato's stomach. His legs had gone numb some time ago from being tucked under him at an awkward angle, but the tingling sensation didn't register; he was too engrossed in the book in his hands to notice it. It also meant that he didn't notice the footsteps padding across the wooden floor behind him or the body leaning over the back of the couch until black curls bounced at the edge of his vision. Without missing a beat he dropped the book in his lap and leaned forward to grab his tea to take another drink. He figured that Akira had just come out to bother him for staying up so late on a night off.

Then he saw the tear tracks trailing down Akira's cheeks and the redness in his eyes, and concern quickly replaced amusement.

“Akira, what's-”

“I had a nightmare.” Akira hiccuped and leaned more over the back of the couch, only moving when Minato began to pull him around to actually sit down beside him to be held. “You were dead. You were a statue and you were dead and-”

“Shhhhhhhh.” Minato's hand began slowly carding through Akira's hair in the hopes of calming the poor boy down. “You're fine. I'm fine. I'm right here, Akira. You feel how warm I am right? You can hear me talking, right? I'm actually here. I'm not dead.” Akira sniffled and shoved his face more into Minato's chest, squeezing him tight and feeling the pain in his chest grow more.

“It was so real, it was so fucking real, I woke up and you were gone and...” His voice caught on a sob, keeping him from continuing his sentence and pulling the tears forward again. The fact that Minato was holding him did help, but a part of his brain still told him it was wrong. That this was just another dream and he would wake up and Minato would be gone. Soft kisses in his hair sent shivers across his entire body and helped drain the tension from his body.

“I'm here. I'm here, Akira, I'm alive and well and holding you. Your dream was just that. A dream.” Another sniffle, a shuffle of bodies, and Akira found himself back-to-chest with Minato. The warmth against his back managed to completely cement the fact that yes, Minato was here. His boyfriend was there and he wouldn't lose him. “...Would you like some tea, Akira?”

“No. I don't wanna get out of your lap,” he whispered. His voice was hoarse from crying and had a wet crackle to it. After he cleared his throat he wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat. “Souji's still asleep. I didn't want to bother him with my stupid nightmares too.”

“Souji's your lover too, Akira. You should trust him,” Minato breathed. His nails began scratching ever so gently across the back of Akira's neck, just at the nape, and the quiet moan made Minato smile. His other arm wrapped gently around Akira's chest to hold him tight. “But...Souji has been busy lately. So I don't blame you for wanting to let him sleep more.”

“Mmmnnn...” Akira's head began to droop slightly to the side now like a contented cat asking for a specific spot to be scratched. Minato happily obliged and raised his fingers up just a bit more to start gingerly scratching behind Akira's ear, and the purr he let out warmed Minato's heart further.

Akira had always been the more high-strung of the three, throwing himself into whatever he could manage to make things better, be it friends or part-time jobs. Getting him to relax was annoying at the best of times and the equivalent of pulling teeth at the worst. Souji didn't fare much better but he would at least give in if Minato pointed out the bags under his eyes were becoming too noticeable. More than once Akira had run himself literally to the point of exhaustion.

Eventually Akira's head found its way onto Minato's shoulder, his body shifting to keep the angle from leaving a crick in his neck later, and let his eyes slip closed slowly. It didn't take long before the rise and fall of his chest gave away that he had finally fallen asleep like he needed. Minato let himself curl around Akira with every intention of continuing his book as best he could but stopped when he heard the bedroom door open. Before Souji could round the corner he already had his head tilted slightly towards the doorway and a finger pressed gently to his lips. Souji stopped to stare at the scene before him for a few seconds before moving on into the kitchen instead.

If Minato were lucky he would be able to get Akira into bed without waking him up, and somehow he managed to succeed enough that he even got away without getting dragged down into bed like a pillow. When he felt certain that Akira wouldn't wake up anytime soon he turned to head back into the kitchen with Souji to talk for a bit. He smiled warmly at the sight of a fresh cup of tea sitting beside Souji's.

For a while neither of them spoke, both of them simply content to enjoy the other's company, but eventually the peace had to be broken.

“What was the nightmare this time?” Minato sighed into his cup and very carefully set it back down on the table in front of him.

“That I was dead. A statue. I'd gotten up about half an hour before to read a little bit since it's my night off and apparently that made it worse. He didn't want to wake you up so he came out to find me,” Minato answered. “He was pretty shaken up.”

“Poor kid...do you think they'll ever stop?” Souji asked. Minato shrugged at him and brushed his hair out of his face for a second.

“Not sure. Maybe one day down the line, but not just yet. How many does that make this month?” Souji's eyes flicked to the side, staring at a slightly cracked tile in their kitchen that he'd wanted to get replaced for a long, long while.

“...Six,” he answered. Six in less than thirteen days, and for both of them that was six nightmares too many. “Maybe we should get him on some sleeping medication. Just for a little bit, so he can get some sleep without waking up thinking one of us is gone.”

“You know it's almost always me,” Minato pointed out with an unsettling amount of calm. “But I agree. Him constantly waking up like this...it isn't good for him. Something needs to be done before things get worse. Getting him to a doctor for this is going to be almost impossible though...”

“He'll just brush us off and tell us he's fine, like he always does,” Souji whispered. “Maybe he'll listen to one of his friends. Sakamoto seemed pretty close to him, maybe he can get Akira to listen. The kid needs help, and the fact that he won't listen to us hurts. I thought he could trust us and tell us what was wrong...”

“He's still got walls up Souji. After everything he went through I'm not surprised,” Minato said. “It'll take a bit for him to trust us. We're dirty adults after all. He's only just graduated high school.” Souji sighed at him and leaned back in his chair to eye Minato now.

“Yeah. Guess you're right,” he sighed. “Guess it just hurts because we're together. You and I opened up to each other so easily, I thought it would be the same for him. Wishful thinking I suppose.” Minato reached over to take Souji's hand in his and squeeze it in gentle reassurance.

“You and I weren't fucked over by adults the same way he was. The fact that he's even with us is honestly a miracle. I thought for sure he would have told us to fuck off when we asked him out,” he said. Souji sighed and flopped out in his chair completely, eyes fixed on the wall across from him.

“Think maybe he felt pressured because it was both of us...?”

“I highly doubt it. He's said no to both of us before.”

“After we were together. And he said no to a public datenight with us. I don't even think he's told any of his friends about us yet. We've been together almost six months now and-”

“Souji.” Minato watched Souji slump forward in his seat and the defeat settle onto his face. “Things are different for him. Things are confusing. There's two of us to one of him, and we're both older than he is. Give him some time to get used to things, okay?”

“...Yeah. Okay. I think I can do that,” Souji whispered. He leaned his head over onto Minato's shoulders and let his eyes slip closed. “It's just...frustrating. I forget he's so young. He's so mature for someone who's eighteen, he doesn't have the naivete I've seen in others. I know he's been through a lot and I want to be there to help but it feels like he's always pushing us away. Like he's too scared to let us help him.”

“That may be true, Souji, but pushing him isn't going to make things easier for us. Right now we need to offer our hands in solidarity and if Akira won't take them, then he won't. But they still need to be offered. Getting angry with him and pulling away will only make things worse and may lead to us losing him one day. If things go down that path then so be it, but I'd rather not be part of the cause if I can help it. I'm sure you feel the same,” Minato said. The hand holding Souji's slid up his arm to start rubbing his back gingerly.

“Yeah. I do. I keep walking on eggshells around him because I'm scared to say the wrong thing to him. I don't hate him and I don't blame him, I just...wish that wasn't the case.” Minato sighed softly and nodded.

“I understand. All too well.” After a few moments he turned to kiss his lover's hair softly and pulled him closer gently. “We should probably get back to bed. If he wakes up alone it probably won't help anything.”

“Yeah. You're right.” Souji slowly stood from his seat, Minato moving almost perfectly in sync with him, and walked back towards the bedroom. The sight of Akira curled up in the center of the bed, face buried in one of Minato's pillows and arms wrapped around one of Souji's, greeted them and warmed their hearts. As soon as Minato slid into bed at Akira's back he was scooting back against the warmth; when Souji crawled in the pillow was discarded in favor of holding the real thing and shoving his face into Souji's chest. Their arms laced around Akira to hold him, blanketing him in warmth and giving him the feeling of protection in his sleep. Their legs twined together, nobody really sure who's leg was touching what, and both settled down to sleep finally.

When the rise and fall of Souji's and Minato's chests reached a steady rhythm Akira finally let the tears fall, crying out the frustration and fear and anger at himself for pushing the best things to ever happen to him away from him because of stupid emotional hangups. He wanted to open up more to them both but a part of him still screamed at him that they would turn on him like all the other adults did. Once they had seen just how weak he really was he'd be tossed off somewhere and forgotten for someone who was more mature than he was. No matter how much he told himself this was wrong he always felt it deep in his gut, forcing him to close himself off around Minato and Souji so he could feel at peace. Opening up to another person felt scary enough; opening up to two other adults, even if he was eighteen himself now, felt terrifying.

Suddenly the arms around his chest squeezed, making him hold his breath and listen to see if Minato was simply having a bad dream or had woken up.

“You aren't alone,” he whispered, giving Akira his answer and shattering the dam he had so carefully constructed. The first sob had barely broken through before a hand settled into his hair to pull him into the body in front of him.

“We're here, Akira.” The vibrations in Souji's chest from him speaking felt nice against Akira's skin, the reassuring squeezes they both gave him pulling the tears from him even more. For the second time that night Akira found himself crying, but this time he didn't feel quite so alone.

After he had calmed down, and after he had dried his eyes and blown his nose, Souji began scratching at the base of his skull gently. Pleasant shivers rolled down Akira's spine and let him relax more against the sheets.

“Do you feel better now after crying?” Minato asked. Akira nodded slowly, sniffling a few times, and wiped at his eyes before leaning back more into Minato's grip. “Sometimes you just have to let it out, Akira. Don't feel bad. Alright? We're here for you. You aren't alone, I promise.” Akira nodded again, letting his head drop back onto the pillow carefully. Souji let a hand come to rest on Akira's hip to hold him before laying back down as well. Minato's face stayed planted firmly between Akira's shoulders.

Maybe...maybe being with these two wasn't as scary as he thought it would be.


End file.
